Nations Lullabys
by happilyinsane13
Summary: 4 Benders. 4 Nations. 4 lullabys that remind them of home. Then one which will bring them together. Oneshot with only 5 intended chapters. Possible Zutara in last chapter.
1. Water drifter

**Authors Note:** **I know, I should be desperately working on my other stories, but this came to mind, and I didn't want to lose it, it was so good!!! It's kind of a Tale of Ba sing se type thing between four different benders looking for a piece of home in a new place. First one up is…. You'll have to see.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Mike and Bryan do. I DO own this lullaby, because I made it up. **

**I know the chapter is really short, but please bear with me.**

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She walked through the dusty and sullen streets of the lower tier, not really watching where she was going. All she knew was she needed some piece without and quiet, which she could never find a moment of lately. Especially with Aang, Toph, Momo, and Sokka all on her back.

Don't get her wrong, she loved them and all, but some times it just got too tiring. She longed for the peace of home, the drifting flakes of snow, and the gently rustling water. Her Gran Gran's special mug of moon flower tea, the smell of fish being cooked over a fir, and the beautiful glow of the moon as it drifted over glistening ice. The simple, small things that made life wonderful at home and clearly, she had now realized, she took for granted.

"I wish I was home," she whispered, her voice full of sorrow and longing. "I just want something, if only a memory." For some reason though, she couldn't bring herself to recall one, for she knew she would then start to cry.

She looked up to realize she had walked into a local park and heard a sound from under a great peach blossom tree.

_Water Drifter, Water drifter, don't be afraid._

She couldn't believe it. A water tribe song, all the way here in the lower tiers of Ba sing se! She rushed over, pushing through the small crowd of people who had gathered around to watch the dose of entertainment.

_Come into my arms from the storm, and the fray._

There was a young girl, probably only a year or two older then her with the skin of the water tribe, a mocha color that went well with her soft brown hair that flowed down her back. Her eyes though told her she must have not been entirely water tribe. She had golden eyes… golden eyes that seemed eerily familiar. She wore a simple earth kingdom green and yellow dress. She was the one singing, her voice a lovely melody.

Two boys beside her played instruments. A boy with pale skin that went well with his sea foam eyes and black hair, while the other had light caramel skin with dark blue eyes and a mess of jet black hair. Both wearing earth kingdom green, the pale boy played a flute, while the other a stringed instrument she believed was native to the surrounding islands called a guitar.

_Water drifter, water drifter, come into my home. _

Her eyes filled with tears that spilled over her face, a trembling smile gracing her lips. The girls voice reminded her of her mother's, who had sang this exact same lullaby to her at night before she went to bed to dream of penguin sliding.

_Where you will be loved, by family and friends, come into my home._

She remembered snow that would drift around their tents and igloos as she snuggled up inside, sitting on her mother's lap while Sokka sat on their father's. Both too young and innocent to realize what was happening in the outside world. Not understanding that at any moment they could lose the ones dearest to them. Not realizing that in just a short amount of time, their perfect world would shatter and they would soon have to grow up way to fast.

_Water drifter, water drifter, don't be afraid. You are safe from the cold touch of snow. _

But for once, Katara felt content, at ease. A cool wind blew her hair so her braid gently rippled behind her. She also realized a piece of home would always be with her. Always there to smile and say, you're home. She also had friends, and a new family she would always strive to protect.

_You are not alone._


	2. Soldier Boy

**Ok guys, next chapter up! I personally like this one. I hope it makes you feel good, warms and fuzzy all inside. Yay warm fuzziness!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, or this lullaby. Mike and Bryan do. Well I DO own the last bit. I wanted to extend it. So yeah, have fun folks. **

**I apologize for it's shortness.**

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_**Dedicated to all soldiers out there **_

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Zuko pushed himself away from the crowded tea shop, desperately trying to get away from the loud banter and sound that emitted from its tiny interior. He was on his lunch break, and fully planned to take advantage of it. He couldn't stand the cacophony of voices that rang through his head every day while he served tea as a lowly waiter in there.

He ran a hand through his quickly growing thick head of hair, liking the way it felt. He had to admit, it became a habit that oddly enough, comforted him. Not today though. Not today of all days.

Not on the annual Soldiers day.

That was the holiday in the Fire Nation celebrated every year to honor the soldiers away from home or at war. Each year a single troop of soldiers would be selected to come home for a festival that would last a week. This year, it should've been his.

Even if he had still been with his crew, hunting the avatar and not an outlaw, he still wouldn't be able to go home. A banished prince, taboo, bad luck, a disgrace…

Was that all he would ever be known as?

Zuko sped up his walk, bumping into people, nearly tripping over his own feet; he didn't even hear the call of Jin shouting his name. All he heard was his mother's voice. How when he was little, she told him he'd be a brave soldier, who would fight well for their nation. Be a hero, and every time he'd come home, she would embrace and love him. She promised.

She never was able to keep that promise.

_Leaves from the vine, falling so slow _

Zuko lifted his downcast head, and saw three people, a two boys and a girl, playing a lullaby he knew well. A fire nation lullaby you always heard. The girls voice rose gently, and when she saw him she smiled, her eyes a beautiful gold. Just like his mothers.

_Like tiny, fragile shells, drifting in the foam._

Zuko wandered over to them, staring blankly as he got to the front of the small group of people watching them. He thought he saw blue, and then saw the water tribe girl, standing there next to him. Watching the three who performed, just as mesmerized as he was.

_Brave soldier boy, come marching home._

Suddenly she looked at him. What was her name? Katara? Yes, that was it. Katara. Her eyes barely widened in surprise. She just stared for a moment, her eyes saying, **_Just this once, _**it told him, **_Just this once, let's listen and remember. _**He smiled a bit as she turned her head back, her brown hair sprinkled with peach blossoms. The equivalent of cherry blossoms in his country. She must have been there awhile.

_Little soldier boy, come marching home._

Zuko closed his eyes and let his home land flood his mind, as he did he felt a sharp pang in his chest. Would he ever go back? Go back to the land that people hated? Back to a land where people hated him, and all he had were horrific memories of shame and despair?

_From the battle fought, come marching home._

He guessed he had good memories too. Most of those consisted of his mother and Uncle Iroh. He loved his mother, more then anything. And he lost her to the nation he was born to defend.

_I will not sleep until I see your face._

More then anything, Zuko wanted a piece of a good memory. An anchor to home that wasn't rusted by hate, anger and sorrow. He wanted to be one of those soldiers who got to go home and be welcomed into the arms of the ones he loved.

_And run into your arms, in your embrace._

When he thought about it, he smiled. What if he could run into the arms of someone he loved? That could be easily done here. He could run to his Uncle, and maybe he could make new friendships, if he really tried. But would he be willing?

_Brave little soldier boy, now you're a man._

He was older now, and he could choose his destiny, and be a soldier. A soldier of his own choosing. Zuko suddenly felt lifted as a breeze blew into him, swirling peach blossoms coating his hair. **_Aren't they beautiful Zuko? _**He could almost here his mother say. **_One day, you'll have a special someone to see them with too. And a child you can hold onto, and tell of coming home. _**

_Come home to me, little soldier boy._

Zuko then felt lighter. A warm piece of home would always be with him. A piece of his mother. He would also be a soldier that would return home one day. But not to the material home of his birth.

But into the home of people who cared about him.

_So you can be in my arms again._


	3. Rose

**Authors Note:Whoa! I'm updating for this story faster then any other! Isn't that amazing? I guess I'm just so driven to complete this, it actually means something to me. Ok people, I tried my hardest on this chapter, having a slight personal experience with this when I take off my glasses. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, Mike and Bryan do. But I DO own this lullaby. I made it up. Yay for me! **

**Sorry for shortness.**

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Toph walked through the roads of what she suspected was the lower tier. She felt the grimy dust and earth underneath her feet instead of the hard, hot paved streets of the middle and upper tiers.

She loved the feel of soil underneath her feet and in between her toes. It made her feel…in her element. Yet even the warm earth beneath her couldn't make her happy today. Not the carefree girl, who didn't seem to care what others thought about her.

The voices around her were raucous and loud. It annoyed her; she really hated it when she didn't know what exactly they were talking about. She had to depend on heightened senses of hearing, smell, taste, and the vibrations of the things around her. It was what made her such a powerful bender.

But that doesn't mean she didn't want to see.

She remembered back home, in her suffocating household, when she would ask what things looked like, she would get a really stupid answer. "Oh, it's ruffled, and straight," or "oh, it's red and pink." They didn't get it that she didn't even know what colors looked like. Or what lines or straight edges looked like. The ruffles on a pillow, or the petals on a flower. She didn't know what they were, not really.

She knew what colors were supposed to be, or what a lake or something simple was supposed to look like from descriptions, but most descriptions couldn't really make sense, because she didn't know what fluffy or hard was supposed to look like.

If some miracle happened and she could suddenly see, she wouldn't be able to distinguish red from blue. She would be like a newborn baby, looking at the world for the first time.

She knew what darkness was though. Eyes closed or open, it didn't matter. Instinct told her, that darkness was what she saw, and that that was all she would ever see.

_Here my child, a rose, a rose_

Toph suddenly felt the feeling of cool, itchy grass underneath her feet and the feeling of the vibrations of shuffling people. As if they had been standing there for awhile. Her ears picked up the sweet voice of a girl, and the playing of a flute, and an island instrument called a guitar. Her blank, sea foamed eyes widened as she recognized the earth kingdom melody.

_Grown from the earth the heavens have sown._

Toph walked to the source of music, feeling two familiar presences, one of a girl she knew well, the other of a boy she recognized to be the one they called 'Zuko'. But she wasn't really paying attention to them. Her ears and senses that were available to her were all on the lullaby.

_Earth is apart of us, we are earth itself._

She loved this lullaby. When Toph became the blind bandit, the only thing keeping her from going to that house, to that suffocating life that made her feel like she was drowning in lukewarm water, was this lullaby. Her parents would gather around her bed and sing it to her, letting down their high mighty pretenses, and showing their child they loved her. That she wasn't a disgrace, and almost seeming that one day, they would release her from her iron cage.

_You are my special rose, grown from earth's abundant wealth._

That wasn't the case. Toph felt a hot liquid form in her eyes that she had identified long ago as tears. She had decided she didn't like them when she was young, and hardly ever cried. This wasn't one of those times.

_Remember, my child, you are a rose._

Her parents had been determined to clip her wings, seeing it as the best thing to do. The best thing for her welfare. It wasn't the best thing though. In fact it was the worst.

Toph felt small, delicate objects drift around her. Were they flower petals? Suddenly, she was reminded of the day she and Katara went to the spa. She remembered the girls teasing her, and Katara saying afterwards that Toph was beautiful. How she was confident. No one could remove her from the fate she chose. Not her parents, not destiny, not anyone. She had people to believe in now, and to believe in her.

Not just for protection, but for comfort and strength. They told her she was strong, and beautiful. Honestly, that was all Toph wanted to be.

_Made from the loving earth._

Beautiful in not only a physical way, but emotionally. Personality wise. She wanted to be strong, and make her own choices, and even being blind, wouldn't stop her. For a second, she thought she saw something. A blur of what she thought were shapes, and what instinct and gut told her was light. And what her heart told her was a sign of a good future.

_And filled with hope._


	4. Small Monk

**Author's Note: Yeah! I'm updating!! Woohoo!!! Anyways, I'm sorry ya'll, I've been listening to "Lips of an Angel" over and over by Hinder, and plan to do a one-shot Zutara story after this based on the song. Anyways, it's time for our favorite Airbenders lullaby. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, Mike and Bryan do. If I did, Zuko and Katara would be together by now! I DO own the lullaby. I made it up! **

**Please forgive shortness!**

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Aang felt nostalgic, as he always did when he was alone, as he walked through the dusty and dirty alleyways of the lower tier of Ba Sing Se. He missed the temples and monks, Appa, the other Bison. Whenever he felt the gentle caress of the wind against his face, he was suddenly reminded he was nowhere near home.

A hundred, maybe a thousand miles away from the place of his birth. But then again, there were things about his old life he did not miss. Like not having a mother for the majority of his life. Like all other male airbenders, he was isolated from the Eastern temple of female airbenders ever since he no longer needed his mother's help at the age of 15 months.

His feet wandered aimlessly, until he felt the texture of grass underneath his feet. He looked up and noticed three familiar bodies in a crowd that surrounded three young musicians. He first noticed Toph, Katara, and standing right next to her…Zuko.

Aang's first reaction was to march forward and bend the air beneath his body, but before he got there, a boy with sea foam eyes locked onto his form. His eyes dared him to move another step toward the young man that was usually his enemy. Aang stopped, and the boy relaxed and sent Aang a warm smile. He nodded to his friends who were watching him, and they began to play a light and airy tune, which somehow still fit the mold of a lullaby.

_Small monk, small monk_

No, it couldn't be. Aang stared, stupefied as they played the ever so familiar song. The airbenders had died out, how could these three know the ancient lullaby that had been lost, that only Aang would know? Suddenly, along with the girl's voice, he heard the croaky old voices of the monks, echoeing in his head, who would sing to him as a child.

_Do not cry_

The old men would sometimes sound like a cacophony when they would rarely be loud and raucous, but when they sang to him a song of sleep, they would sing softly, and gently, as if loud voices would somehow break him.

Aang wanted to cry, as he stood next too Zuko's other side. Zuko gave him a sidelong look, as if debating whether or not to be surprised, angry, or flat out evil and kidnap the boy while he was there.

Honestly, Zuko did no want to start trouble. Didn't he come here with his Uncle, to start a new life? Zuko decided, he would be a regular person at the moment, and not the banished prince of the fire nation.

_For soon you will take, flight to the sky._

Aang remembered the cold, thin air of the mountains. How he felt more accustomed to it then the thick air of the earth. He couldn't get used to it, and whenever he was on the ground, he felt homesick.

_Bend the air,_

Airbender first, Avatar second.

_Without a care._

Aang always wished he could be normal. A normal airbender, not the Avatar who saves the world. He was only eleven. Well, technically one-hundred and eleven, but still! Sometimes, he wanted to scream and shout his frustration, sorrow, anger, and complain for all he was worth. Why was he chosen too be Avatar, he was not strong or fierce. It was not his place.

_And remember your mother in eastern air._

He remembered his mother briefly. She cared for him and loved him, but the most vivid picture he had of her was her tearful face when she had to let him go. How she told him at 15 months, and he still remembered "Look to the east, and you'll find me." Aang looked to the east, and felt a zephyr blow against him.

Peach blossoms constantly swirled around the group, as if to embrace them.

_Small child, small child._

A monk would always tell Aang to look inside him. He'd never really get what that meant until now. Too look inside himself for answers and power. To just think of the people he loved and cared about to give him strength.

_Do not weep_

He had to fly his own course of destiny, metaphorically or on a flying bison, once he found Appa.

_For you will fly, on bison these_

Aang let his ears hear the song, and looked inside himself. Closing his eyes, he saw his friends, the shadows of enemies that would soon become allies and the four elements and seasons united, working together in harmony. He knew it would take a lot of work to unite the four scattered nations.

_Remember the song, of the wind._

To unite people of such diversity, and different cultures, it would be a miracle to happen. Aang opened his eyes and smiled gently. Such a difference from his usual goofy grin.

_It tells you and I_

In the end, it would all be worth it.

_Strength comes from within._


	5. Nations Children

**Authors Note: I've decided to extend this another few chapters, and do lullaby's for the other characters in Avatar. I'm goanna do the United Nations one first though, because I already had it planned out. I promise I'll do the others for another few chapters, but they'll have separate encounters with the musicians. **

**Cookie and Zuko plushy too whoever can guess who the three musicians were. There description is in the first chapter. See if you can guess!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, Mike and Bryan do. I DO own this lullaby. I made it up! **

**Sorry if it's short! **

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Four bodies stood in an in orderly row beside each other. Not talking, not speaking, yet unusually relaxed in each others presence. Normally, three of the four would gang up on the young man with the scar on his face. Not today, though. One was even unsure if she ever would again.

Katara had been standing next to Zuko, almost since the beginning of the musician's performance. She had heard the sad, yet warm lullaby of what she suspected was native to his country. The Firenation. Yet, wasn't his country the one who had destroyed her mother?

She wouldn't be able to forget that, not in a million years and a lifetime. She couldn't, and wouldn't. It made her who she was, and drove her forward. But was hate towards the Nation and all it's people, when the people of the nation didn't even have a say in that matter, right? When they were ruled by just as much cruelty as the Water tribe and Earth kingdom were?

_Earth, air, water and fire._

Zuko listened to the song that he had never heard before. It wasn't a song of one nation or element, but apparently all. He had never heard one, and doubted he would ever again. The Nations were in total disarray, and none was all to willing to help the other. Take and take was all he had ever seemed to learn growing up in a nation that profited off others.

How did they profit off of them? Threatening them, treating them with unparallel cruelty. He had to say, he was guilty of many of those things. But after living like one of them however, he now understood what his mother had desperately tried to teach him before…before she was gone.

Zuko turned to Katara, watching her face as it took on a troubled look. Like she was debating something. She was chewing her bottom lip, and he noticed it getting redder by the minute. Reflex taught by his mother at such things made his hand shoot out and grab her chin to look at him.

Katara looked startled, and looked like she was going to hurl something at him as her hand lingered over her water flask.

"Stop chewing your lip," he growled, knowing now the young earthbender and Avatar were listening. "It's unbecoming of a lady, and you'll regret it when you start bleeding." He let go of her chin, and turned away, embarrassed and blushing red. He hated Royal court reflexes.

_Strength, freedom, grace and desire._

Toph couldn't help giggling as she listened to the reprimand the banished Prince had given Sugar queen. She had felt the anxious beat of Katara's heart, and knew the subtle sound of chewing your lip. She could just tell that she was debating something.

She had been going to hit Katara over the head, but found that Zuko had done it much better then she could have. She wished she could see their face's, but was just as satisfied with the rapid beating of their hearts and the sudden feel of heat rising in their bodies.

Oh, how she loved heightened senses.

_Children of nations _

Aang couldn't help the small smile, but also felt a good amount of jealousy as well. He knew that he was very fond of Katara. But sadly, as Aang listened to the lullaby, he knew at that moment Katara didn't feel the same.

He knew she cared, but also knew it was different from the way he felt. Toph at one point in their journey had told him to be careful. That Katara was like a mother Sabermoose. Sokka had even mentioned that ever since their mother died, she had been determined to take on her role in the family.

Toph's head swerved in his direction and offered him a smile. Aang felt a bit better, knowing Toph must have sensed his sadness. Aang knew she couldn't see him as he smiled back, but he somehow knew that she knew he did. Her smile grew brighter.

_Unite as one._

A bridge had been crossed between four children of four different nations. Opposites and yet alike. Somehow they knew that without the other three to balance the scale, they would be lost. Lost in a dark prejudice and closed minded world, where only one element would exist and destroy them

_Be as brothers and sisters,_

Yet now, as four elements and seasons in harmony, they were in synch. They were united, even if only for a moment through song. Yet they knew they would see each other again as a whole group. Maybe sooner then they thought. They would keep this unity close to heart and mind.

_Parents and lovers._

As night came upon them, and stars and the moon shone dimly in the sky, they sat on the grass and listened to the lullaby. They grew past their differences, broke down barriers and shot down defenses. They told stories of the land in which they felt nostalgic for, the good and bad of home. And what they could do to make it better, and make it a home for the people of this world.

So it was no longer just firenation, water tribe, earth kingdom, or air nomads. But a people as a whole community. Where intermixed marriages wouldn't be frowned upon, where children could walk safely, and listen to the song of a parents love.

Where hope was possible.

_Even when the battle's done._


	6. Endure Child

**Authors Note: I'm doing another one. Yeah! This one is for Sokka! Yay!! Please don't kill me if it isn't as good as the others. I try, scouts honor! (Although I quit scouts three years ago) Lol. **

**Dedication: Piezo! Thank you for giving me the final say on whether to do this or not!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Avatar. Mike and Bryan do. I wish I owned it, then I could bend the characters to my will. Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!**

**Sorry if it's short. **

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Sokka couldn't believe this. He had been wandering around the Upper tier, just taking a stroll, then suddenly he realized he wandered in to the middle tier without his identification papers. Fabulous. So he resumed his wandering, hoping he could find Katara, Toph or Aang.

No such luck. Before he knows it, he's wandered into the lower tiers. Because he hadn't been paying attention. Man, why did these things happen to him?

Sokka could only hope one of his friends was here, but somehow he doubted that. He became angry with himself, stomping his way through the lower tiers, kicking up dust around his feet and into the air. His face was contorted into a grimace, and people around him scurried away, some actually laughing half-heartedly at his obvious frustration.

His shoulders drooped as he remembered the few times he would get lost among the icebergs and wintry snows back home. How he would go out happily, to have great adventures and fight penguins, to later start crying, wailing for his parents.

In the end his father would find him, and it would turn out that the village was only a left turn and a few paces beyond the iceberg.

He missed it.

Sokka found himself by a murky stream with questionable water running through a park where he heard music flowing from a nearby peach blossom tree. Its blossoms in full bloom and falling from its branches.

The music was very familiar.

_Hush my baby_

Was it what he thought it was? The tune was familiar, but it was too early in the song to tell.

He calmly walked up to the tree where a few mothers and their children sat around the musicians, some tossing coins into a small bowl in front of them. Sokka sat within the crowd, deciding it wouldn't hurt to listen.

_My little boy, don't cry._

A wind ruffled Sokka's wolf tail as he stared at the musicians wide-eyed. A water tribe lullaby. For some reason his eyes started to blur and sting. He didn't know why, but he had been waiting to here this. A song his father and mother would sing to him at night. Something that he could grasp onto to remind himself of where he came from.

Sometimes he couldn't tell. Sometimes, it was too hard to recall, and a pain to remember. To the point where his chest would hurt when he saw anything that would remind him of his late mother, or a reminder that his father was at war.

_You must be strong, to lead this tribe._

Sokka only had his little sister left. Even if she was sometimes a real pain, he loved her too pieces. She was a life raft that kept him from plunging into the waters of insanity. If she died, he would too. He would rather be dead then lose someone else he loved.

_To carry on, through war and strife _

As the words left the singer's mouth, Sokka felt a blow to the chest. It was like his parents were singing to him all over again. Teaching him a lesson. 'How?' he thought desperately. 'How can I carry on if those I care about keep getting ripped away from me?'

But, if they died, would they want Sokka to just give up? He knew what Katara and Toph would do. They'd hit him over the head, calling him a coward and a idiot for saying such things. Aang would shake his head and tell him that's not the right answer. While Momo and Appa would stare at him like they always did.

_Be strong and untamed _

How could he be strong? Well, he was physically. He liked to give himself that much credit, but another emotional blow? Was he crazy? Too go on this whole journey and risk himself as well as Katara? Now he had more too lose then he had to start. At least back in the South Pole, he was confident and sure.

How he missed the snow and blizzards, ice fishing and Gran Gran. Would he ever see home again?

_But gentle and sure._

Sokka thought about it carefully, and decided home was where the heart is. Besides, didn't he have a piece of home right here? Where a Tribal lullaby was being sung? In Katara, and in Aang, Toph, and Suki? A new family too care for and keep him strong?

_Like the ocean and moon._

Also a moon that would shine lovingly on him at night, and would remind him to stay firm and be careful. Yue…

He would stand his ground.

Sokka closed his eyes and inhaled the subtle sweet scent of peach blossoms.

Yes, he would hold on.

_So my child, endure._


End file.
